Philosophy HONOURS PROGRAM

A Three - year B.A. (Honours) Course under 1+1+1 Regulations (2009) of University of Calcutta

Course Outcomes - Philosophy Honours

Philosophy Honours comprises of 8 papers with 100 marks each. Paper 1 and Paper 2 are taught in Part I, Paper 3 and 4 in Part II and Papers 5-6 in Part III.

CO1 Paper 1 - Indian Philosophy
In Paper I students read nine different schools of Indian thought, both Ᾱstika and Nāstika.

CO2 Paper 2 - Psychology & Social-Political Philosophy
The first half is Psychology which is concerned with the general framework of thinking about mental phenomena. Students learn about different methods of Psychology and other theories regarding factors of mind. The second half of this paper consists of nature and scope of both social and political philosophy and there relation. Students acquire knowledge in basic concepts of society, family, Marxists' conception of class etc. In the part of Political philosophy, different views regarding social change, different Political ideals and many other topics are discussed.

CO3 Paper 3 - History of Western Philosophy
Students learn about the epistemological and metaphysical perspectives of the philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz, Locke Berkeley, Hume and Kant.

CO4 Paper 4 - Logic
This paper discusses several topics of Logic in general. Logic being the Science of Thought, gives the students the fundamental insight into different types of arguments and inferences, truth and validity, symbolic interpretations quantifications etc.

CO5 Paper 5 - Indian Logic and Epistemology
Epistemology is the philosophical study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge. Nyāya is the science of logic, and provides the only sound methodology of philosophical inquiry into the nature of knowledge and the objects of knowledge. It is the means to obtain Right Knowledge (pramā) about the Self and to discover the purpose of life. The only way to impart our experience to others and to elucidate their implications for the rest of our life and defend their validity against hostile criticism is by means of logic. Indian Logic as the normative science of correct and perfect thinking, sharpens their intelligence, shapes their reasoning skill and enhances their power of argumentation.

In NET and SLET and other competitive exams most of the questions are based on logic and reasoning, so proper understanding and knowledge of this paper helps them to perform better in these exams. After Studying Indian Logic and epistemology, students will be able to critically evaluate various real life situations by resorting to Analysis of key issues and factors.

CO6 Paper 6 - An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis by John Hospers
In general, philosophy done in the analytic tradition aims at truth and knowledge, as opposed to moral and spiritual improvement. In general, the goal in analytic philosophy is to discover what is true, not to provide a useful guidelines for living one's life. To analyze means to break something down into its constituent parts. Analytic philosophy attempts to clarify by the meaning of statement and concepts by recourse to analysis. Analytic Philosophy helps the students to cope well in the competitive exams as many of the questions are analytical.

CO7 Paper 7 - Ethics and Religion
Ethics help the students in many ways, both in their personal and professional life. A code of ethics reflects an organisation's principles and values and provide guidelines for employees to follow. It is set of a formalised rules and standards describing what an organisation expects of its employees. An ethical organisational culture is one where employees speak up about any wrongdoing, leaders model integrity, there is an open and honest communication, and business is conducted with high ethical standards. A work ethics assessment is also an effective tool as it helps you understand a candidate's likelihood of engaging in counterproductive work behaviour. Ethical assessments provide the necessary framework for conducting training and mentoring session that can help the attitude of students to improve. Work ethics is basically the belief that work is a good moral. It also refers to a set of values that are defined and characterized by diligence and hard work.

Ethics, both Indian and Western gives our students an overall view of how life should be led and by what principles and gives them the choice to be ethical or unethical while choosing their career.

Ethics and religion provides a concrete moral framework for how they should act, speak, or make decisions in their daily life. They may not even attend a religious institution and simply follow the rules of their religion for themselves but studying religion helps them to:

  • Discuss historical view of religion from a sociological perspective
  • Understand how the major sociological paradigms view religion

Archaeological digs have revealed ancient ritual objects, ceremonial burial sites, and other religious artifacts. Much social conflict and even wars have resulted from religious disputes. To understand a culture, sociologists must study its religion.

CO8 Paper 8 - Practical Ethics
Practical Ethics remain the backbone of counselling in the unfolding complicated and interconnected global space where technology has made change a constant in life style. Counselling practice is guided by code of ethics and standards which provide a common base for the application and interpretation of assessment and evaluation tools in counselling work. Here are some common job possibilities to explore as you think of ways to apply your sociology major to the work world.

  • Guidance Counselor
  • Human Resources (HR) Representative
  • Management Consultant
  • Market Research Analyst
  • Media Planner
  • Policy Analyst
  • Public Relations (PR) Specialist

 

Program Outcomes - Philosophy Honours

The study of Philosophy helps the students to get acquainted with different schools of Indian philosophy like Cārvāka, Jainism and Budhhism as Nāstika schools. On the other hand Sāṁkhya, Yoga, Nyāya, Vaiśeṣika, Mimāṁsā and Vedānta as Ᾱstika school.

In paper 2 they learn both Psychology and Social and Political philosophy. In the part of Psychology students become aware of different theories like Interactionism, Philosophical behaviourism, Person theory along with different methods of Psychology, nature and relation of sensation and perception. They become acquainted with theories of learning, different levels of mind, Freuds theory of dream. They also learn different tests of Intelligence regarding I.Q. measurement. In the part of Social and Political philosophy students of philosophy learn about the nature of social and political philosophy and their relation . They also study the basic concepts of society, nature and role of family in society, different theories regarding the relation between .individual and society. They also learn about secularism, nature and progress of Social changes, different theories of social changes, discussion about different political ideals.

By studying paper 3 students get acquainted the epistemological and metaphysical theories of the philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz , Locke Berkeley Hume and Kant.

The study of paper 4 helps the students to get acquainted with the use of logical rules for identifying a valid argument. Along with these they also learn existential import, symbolic interpretation, constructing formal proof of .validity, proving invalidity, Quantification theory. Study of this paper helps them to be aware of Mill's different experimental methods, Science and Hypothesis and also different theories of probability.

 

Program Specific Outcome - Philosophy Honours

The study of Philosophy in general develops the faculty of understanding of the students. The study of Logic enriches one's thinking skill and sharpens one's analytical abilities. It equips students to grasp the different issues discussed in mathematics, computer science etc. the study of Psychology gives the opportunity for the students to learn about brain states, different personality traits, the sub-conscious and conscious reasons for human. The study of Ethics helps a student to gain the ability so that they can make themselves to become a proper social being. The 3yr course enables the students to develop an insight into the intricacies of the subject and prepare them for more advanced courses on subject in the university of Calcutta as well as in the other universities both national and international. It also develops in them to think logically and essentially which is absolutely essential in realising the principles and theories of Philosophy.
 

Philosophy General (Elective) Subject Course Outcomes

In the general course of Philosophy there are 4 papers. Paper 1 is in the syllabus of Part I, which helps the students to be aware about epistemology and metaphysics of both Indian and Western Philosophy.

Paper II and III are in the syllabus of Part 2. By studying Paper II students learn Logic and Psychology. Paper III helps them to be acquainted with Ethics both Indian and Western, Practical Ethics and Religion.

Paper IV is in the syllabus of Part 3 for Pure General students. This helps the students to learn Social and Political philosophy along with Contemporary Indian philosophy.